by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 4/8/2026 Graphic by NFL For the first time in the 2026 Draft season I will be putting out a Mock Draft with trades. This exercise helps with 2 things, the first being it gives everyone an idea of the most likely candidates to move picks when it comes to the First Round on April 24 and also shakes up the normal routine of draft picks we see selected just about at the same selection just about every time. I will probably make a separate list just

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 3/30/2026 Photo by Steven Bisig/ Imagn Images Joe Pyfer vs Anthony Hernandez Zak Drapeau - Pyfer started his fight with Izzy slow but showed us all what he's capable of with devastating power and controlled grappling. Now it's time for him to get another Top-5 fight where a lot more will be on the line. I have him against Fluffy next as a more complete fighter than Izzy and one still in his prime. Hernandez's grappling will be a g

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation 3/25/2026 Photo by Fayez Nureldine/ AFP via Getty Images Honorable Mentions: Paul Hughes ( PFL) Lightweight MMA 14-3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Samet Agdeve (ONE) Heavyweight MMA 18-0 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Thad Jean (PFL) Welterweight MMA 11-0 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Anatoly Malykhin (ONE) Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight MMA 14-1 ________________________________ Top-

Photo graphic by Sporting News Selection Sunday consistently follows the same pattern for fans: the bracket is revealed, analysts begin highlighting potential upsets, and fans quickly start discussing which teams might make it all the way. However, for the players, March is about more than just the bracket; it's about the people alongside you in the locker room, teammates who motivated you during early morning workouts, coaches who supported you when the season became challen

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/18/26 Photo by Jeff Bottari/ Zuffa LLC 1. Islam Makhachev Lightweight Record: 16-1 Championship Record: 5-0 Best "Prime": 16-0 [2016-Pres.] The big debate will be between Islam and Khabib for the #1 spot of the division and while Khabib was the bigger star because of McGregor, I have Islam by a hair. Now that he's Welterweight Champion It's likely we've seen the last of Islam at Lightweight where his final records include a 15-fight win strea

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 3/16/26 Photo by Chris Unger/ Getty images Kevin Vallejos vs Yair Rodriguez Zak Drapeau - Vallejos has shown me enough that he should be taken seriously and given a top fight, and Yair Rodriguez seemingly has nothing else going on. A step up to #3 may be a bit soon for the 23-year-old, but after dispatching Chikadze and Emmett in the fashion he did, I'm ready to get a better look at what this phenom can do against a higher-qualit

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/14/2026 On Friday, March 13th Matt Hylen and myself did our first Mock Draft together of the 2026 season. Follow us on X for in podcast form if you want to listen in live as we'll do several more of these before the actual draft. This Mock Draft was an exercise we wanted to do because of Free Agency. While the period only technically started 2 days ago, "legal tampering" started Monday and we've seen the majority of the bigger moves take place

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/11/2026 Photo by Josh Hedges/ Zuffa LLC via Getty Images 10. Jessica Andrade UFC Record - 17-13 Championship Record - 1-3 Holder of the most fights and wins of any Woman in UFC history, Andrade is one of the most underappreciated fighters in history. Her famous slam knockout of Rose Namajunas was her only title win in 4 tries but her 13-year career in the UFC when she was almost entirely within the Top-10 deserves a spot on this list. 9. Car

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/10/2026 Best Moves Photo by Timothy T. Ludwig/ Getty Images - Tyler Linderbaum - Raiders 3yr/ $81 Million Spending 27 Million a year on a Center is unheard of and $9 Million per year more than the next highest but Linderbaum is worth it. Especially to a team like the Raiders that has struggled to build an O-line and has a Franchise RB to build around. Linderbaum was a Captain for Baltimore's O-line for years and now comes to Vegas as THE capt

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 2/25/2026 Photo Courtesy of @khabib_nurmagomedov/ Instagram First thing's first, this is a list about how much we wanted to see the fight, NOT about how great the fight would've been. So much get's put into the sport of MMA that we forget that the UFC is foremost a spectator sport. While we appreciate the purity of the #1 contender facing the long-anointed champion, we also want to see the fights we want to see. There's something different about

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 2/18/2026 10. Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler Photo by Cooper Neill/ Zuffa LLC All Out War. Some of the fights on this list had incredible builds, some had titles on the line and some had crazy finishes. This fight had none of the above but did have 2 of the most competitive rounds I've ever seen. For the first two rounds, this fight in 2021 had slams, knockdowns and the crowd going wild from start to finish. Chandler proved he is one of th

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 2/11/2026 So with full disclosure I am not a Patriots fan and while this article's topic may seem absurd to some of you, It's worth exploring after his abysmal performance in not only Super Bowl LX but the entire 2026 Playoffs. Photo by Adam Hunger/ Associated Press Content Services for the NFL When asking if Maye is Overrated, one needs to first conclude how he is "rated" at the moment by most pundits and media alike. In short, Maye is closely

by Zak Drapeau 1/6/2026 Sportz Nation Graphic by NFL 1. Fernando Mendoza QB Las Vegas Raiders Mendoza is a good Quarterback but maybe not to the level of #1 Quarterbacks in the past. Still this is the pick, with the Raiders needing a Quarterback and this class being the worst for QBs since 2022, this is a no-doubter. 2. Arvell Reese LB New York Jets Reese isn't my #1 prospect this year but he does have the best potential in his class. A freak athlete with all of the physical

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 1/30/2026 (All odds are via Caesar's Sportsbook on 1/29) Last week Zak went 5-1 and Matt went 4-2 in picking the winners of UFC 324 with both getting 2 methods right as well. For UFC 325 this week, the boys will predict __ fights in their ongoing series of UFC Predictions ALL YEAR Points To Date: Zak - 7 Matt - 6 Photo by Chris Unger/ Zuffa LLC C Alexander Volkanovski vs #2 Diego Lopes 2 Featherweight Championship (Volkanovski -

Photo Credit to Ian Maule via Getty Images Justin Gaethje vs Ilia Topuria Lightweight Championship Zak Drapeau I still believe we will see Makhachev vs. Topuria, but now that Gaethje is the interim champ, this fight should probably happen first. This also has Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night written all over it as the probable heaviest and most technical strikers of the division square off. Who knows what Topuria's future holds and how his style, skill, and prowe

by Zak Drapeau 1/26/26 - Sportz Nation Finally the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl and will take on the Seattle Seahawks for the 2025 Championship. Photo by John Locher/ Associated Press Just last night, the Patriots finished a clean sweep of the best defenses in the AFC by defeating the Broncos 10-7 in Denver. With that one out of the way, the Patriots playoff resume now includes the #7 ranked defense of the Chargers, the #3 in Houston and #2 in Denver. With the final ga

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen 1/23/2026 - Sportz Nation Photo Graphic by UFC via ufc.com Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett Lightweight Championship (Pimblett -230) This should be an all-out war, even if it's between two fighters who aren't currently deserving of the title shot. Nonetheless, when the Highlight Reel and the Scouser come to blows, one has to assume that the veteran Gaethje should win the chess match when striking. The two have made claims that they plan to keep t

by Zak Drapeau 1/22/2026 - Sportz Nation Photo of Red Sox General Manager Craig Breslow from NESN NBC Interview via MLB.com Slow. One word that sums everything up pretty much. The Red Sox made a stunning move toward the beginning of the 2025 season by trading away Rafael Devers that set them to the rebuild we have seen over the past few months. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Offseason Moves Below are a list of the Red Sox moves this offseason: Signed: Ranger Suarez

by Zak Drapeau 1/11/2026 Sportz Nation Photo by Samantha Madar/ Columbus Dispatch/ USA Today Network via Imagn Images 1. Caleb Downs Safety 1 6'1" 204 lbs. Ohio State Strengths: - Great Special Teams Returner - High Production at both Ohio State and Alabama - Great processing speed when in deep and medium zone coverage. Uses zone IQ and athleticism to constantly threaten passing lanes. - Elite at sniffing out run plays and making plays in backfield. - Versatility. Can be dee

by Zak Drapeau 1/12/2026 Sportz Nation Graphic by Jaren Kawada via Article on clutchpoints.com In the final matchup of Super Wildcard weekend, the 12-5 Houston Texans will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh tonight at 8:15 EST. The Texans are being favored by 3 points in the game with the Over/Under set at 38.5, which is the lowest of any game this weekend. Texans The Texans' identity has been their defense this season under Demeco Ryans which has